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  4. Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata

Above Siberia Valley, 1800m asl.<br>Photographer: Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Date taken: 27/02/2013, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Above Siberia Valley, 1800m asl.<br>Photographer: Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Date taken: 27/02/2013, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
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Common names

New Zealand harebell, harebell

Biostatus

Native – Endemic taxon

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites

Flower colours

Blue, Violet/Purple

Detailed description

Perennial herb with radical, rosulate tufts of leaves, sometimes alternate on elongated stems (shade form). Leaves concolorous or paler beneath, yellow-green, green to red-green, turning glaucous on drying; more or less petiolate, lamina 10 × 2 to 40 × 10 mm, linear to elliptic, gradually narrowed to petiole as long as the lamina or longer, margins entire or subentire, thickened, teeth if present, inconspicuous. Flowers insect-pollinated, narrowly campanulate-rotate, corolla pale flax blue to pale blue-violet, often with white zoning and deeper coloured veins, or all white, 12-17 mm diameter, 10-20 mm long, corolla tube 4 × 3 to 10 × 6 mm, lobes 6 × 3 to 12 × 5 mm; style equal in length to corolla tube, lobes 2 or 3. Calyx lobes less than ¼ corolla length; capsule domed cylindric, 6-8 × 4 mm. Seeds 0.5 mm long, ellipsoid, smooth, glossy brown when mature.

Similar taxa

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata is distinguished from subsp. decora J.A.Pettersen, subsp. flexilis (Petrie) J.A.Pettersen, subsp. laxa (G.Simpson) J.A.Pettersen and subsp. olivina J.A.Petetrsen by its inland eastern South Island distribution (and virtual restriction within this area to low-rainfall regions), and by its entire, linear to elliptic leaves which are often white margined. All of the W. albomarginata subspecies recognised by Petterson (1997), except perhaps the ultramafic endemic subsp. olivina, require a thorough revision, as many of the characters used to separate them are overlapping.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (in the east from Marlborough to Central Otago)

Habitat

Lowland to subalopine in tussock-grassland, on river terraces and amongst rocks.

Current conservation status

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.

  • Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

2023 | Not Threatened

Jump to previous conservation statuses

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Campanulaceae

Authority

Wahlenbergia albomarginata Hook. subsp. albomarginata

Synonyms

Wahlenbergia brockiei J.A.Hay

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Ecology

Flowering

November – April

Fruiting

December - April

Propagation technique

Easily grown from tip cuttings and the division of whole plants. Fresh seed germinates readily. Being insect-pollinated and having an indigenous pollinator, cultivated plants rarely set seed.

Wetland plant indicator status rating

Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]

FACU: Facultative Upland

Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).

Other information

Etymology

wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.

albomarginata: From the Latin albus ‘white’ and marginatus ‘having a border or margin’ meaning something with a white margin, often referring to leaves

NVS code

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

WAHASA

Chromosome number

2n = 36

Previous conservation statuses

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.

  • Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

2017 | Not Threatened

2012 | Not Threatened

2009 | Not Threatened

2004 | Not Threatened

Jump to current conservation status

Regional conservation statuses

Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened

The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.

Referencing and citations

References and further reading

Petterson, J.A. 1997: Revision of the genus Wahlenbergia (Campanulaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 35(1): 9-54

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 12 June 2007. Description from Petterson (1997).

NZPCN Fact Sheet citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/wahlenbergia-albomarginata-subsp-albomarginata/ (Date website was queried)

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